Fountain pen



Aug. 6, 1929.

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UNITED STATES PATENT oFEl'cE.

WILLIAM A. HOUSTON .AND DILLIAN CHARLES HOUSTON, OF LOS CALIFORNIA. 7

iroUNTAIN PEN.

Application led November 29, 1926. Serial No. 151,459.

Our invention relates to fountain pens of the character employing aplunger which is operable in an ink barrel to fill the latter with inkby means of suction.

It is a purpose of our invention to provide a fountain pen of the abovedescribed character which simplifies the structure and operation ofsimilar pens to the extent of permitting such pens to bemanufactured ata relatively low cost, providing apen of much more 'substantialconstruction, and a pen which is capable of being easily operated toquickly ll the pen barrel with ink by the creation of suction therein.

" It is also a purpose of our invention to provide a fountain pen inwhich the plunger thereof can be effectively sealed when the pen is notin use to prevent the possibility of leakage of ink from the barrel.

A further purpose of our invention is the provision of a fountain penhaving a cap covering the plunger rod and which is associated therewithto permit actuation of the plunger valve to open or seal the inkAbarrel, thereby eliminating' the necessity of removing the cap each timethe pen is opened for use or closed for carrying.'`

We will describe .only-one formof fountain pen embodying. our invention,and will then. point out the novel features thereof in claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a view showing in vertical lon-` gitudinalsection one form of fountain pen embodying our invention, with the inkbarrel filled and the plunger thereof sealed against delivery of ink tothe nib;

Figures 2, 3 and 4 are views similar to Figure l, showing otherpositions of the plunger in effectingthe filling of thev ink" arrel;

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentaryl sectional view showing the plungerof the pen,

i n side elevation;

f Figure 6 is a view taken on the line 6 -6 of Figure 5 Figure 7 is anenlarged fragmentary sectional' view showing a modified form of fountainpen embodying our invention;

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure7, showing another position .of thepenshown in Figure 7, and

Figure 9 is a vertical lon 'tudinal sectional view showing the modifiedform of fountain pen embodying our invention.

Similar reference charactersrefer to sirhilar parts 1n each of theseveral-views.

Referring to Figure 1, B designates a bar- A 'ink feeding spoon 17- anda conventional nib 18, the spoon being provided with an ink feeding duct19 for delivering ink from the chamber 15 to the nib. Atthe junction ofthe bores 15 and 16 an annular shoulder 20 is formed, which provides anabutment against which a plunger, designated generally at P, is adaptedto abut in its lowermost position. The upper end ofthe bore 15 isenlarged as indicated at 21 to receive a gasket 22, a packing plug 23,preferably formed of cork, and a' screw plug 24, these elementsconstituting a closure for the up# per end of the chamber 15. At thejunction of the bores l5 and 21 is an annular shoulder 25 upon which thegasket 22 seats. The plug 24 is provided with an annular lip 26 whichlimits the inward screwing movement of the plug into the barrel. Theseele- -ments, namely, the gasket, sealing plug and screw plug, are allprovided with` alined openings through which the rod' R of the plunger Pis adapted to move, the outer end of the rod being providedl with a head27 which is adapted to be manually gripped in effecting theVreciprocating ofthe rod, which is normally on the plug A24.

The plunger P comprises any annular body 29 formed of suitable material,and having its outer periphery grooved to provide spaced annularprojections 30 which have sliding contact with the inner wall of thebarrel..v Extending through and secured in the body 29 is a tubularmember 31 constructed to lock the body thereon through the employmentof,A washers 32. The upper end of this member 31 is constructed toprovide a valve seat '33 on which seats a valve 34 'formed on the innerend of the plunger rod R. To provide an operative connectlon between theplunger and the rod and ina enclosedin a cap 28 threaded in Figure 4,the extension functions to seal the tubular member in such manner thatink from the chamber 15 is only permitted to pass into the duct 19 andnot beneath the plunger, thereby eliminating the possibility of inkaccumulating between the plunger and the spoon vwhen the parts of thepen are in the position shown in Figure 4. e In lling the pen itis ofcourse necessary i to first remove the cap 28 when the head 27 cev isexposed to permit it to be pulled upwardly, thereby imparting acorresponding movement to the plunger P, all as clearly illustrated inFigure 2. During this upward movement of theplunger the valve 34occupies an open position so that air above the plunger is free to passto the lower side thereof as the plungermoves upwardly. After theplunger rod has been moved upwardly to its greatest extent it is newpushed'downwardly, and at the inception of this movement the valve 34moves to closed position on the seat 33 so as to seal the plunger.against air .passing upwardly through the tubular member 31. Uponcontinued downward movement of the plunger rod the plunger is now moveddownwardly, creating a partial vacuum in the chamber above the plunger.In the lowermost position of the plunger as illustrated in Figure 4,

the extension 36 is seated within the tubular.

member 31, the plunger engaging the shoulder 20 and thus defining thelowermost position of the plunger. By inserting the nib, together'withthe spoon, into a bottle of ink and openingthe valve 34 `by an upwardpull on the rod R, the vacuum created in the chamber 15 vwill'functionto draw ink into said chamber and rapidly i'ill the saine, all asillustrated in Figure 4. Through the medium of the packing plug 23 therod is retained in this elevated position so as to maintain the valve 34open. Thus when the pen is in use ink is free to flow from the chamber15 through the plunger. and into the duct 19. When the pen is not in.use the rod is pushed inwardly to close the valve 34, thereby sealingthe plunger against the passage of ink therethrough and thereby sealingthe pen against discharge of ink and Referring now :to Figures 7 an.thus rendering the pen nonleakable 8, we have here shown a modied formofsfountain pen designed to eliminate the necessity of removing the cap28 each time it is de-l sired to open or rrclose a valve 34 incident tothe use or non-use of the pen. In this einbodiment of my invention Isubstitute for the screw plug 24 a screw plug 37 having an extension 38projecting from the end o-f the pen barrel and exteriorly provided withleft ghand, threads indicated at 39. rlhe plunger rod indicated at R isslidable in the plug 37 and the extension 3S, its outer end beingprovided witli a relatively large' disk shaped head 40. On the outer endof the extension 38 is a collar 41, while threaded on the extension is amember 42 provided exteriorly with right handedv threads 43 to receive acap 44. The inner end of the member 42 is formed with an annularshoulder 45 to limit the inward screwing movement of the cap thereon.The member 42 is provided With a pocket 46 in which the collar 41 isreceived, and this pocket is of such diameter as to prevent the head 4()being received therein so that such head is interposed between the outeren'd of the member .42 and a pocket 47 formed in the cap 44.

In Figure 7 ,we have shown the rod R in a position correspondingto therod R in Figure 4, in which the valve 34 is open, thus permitting ink tobe delivered to the nib. If it is desired to move the rod Itinwardly toclose the valve 34 and thus render the pen non-leakable the cap 44 isrotated in a coun# `ter-clockwise direction, causing the member from themember 42 by virtue of the right hand threads 43 so that the head 40is.now

uncovered to permit actuation of the plunU- er rod in effectingrefilling of the pen. fn reapplying the cap it is rotated on the member42 in a clockwise direction until it strikes the shoulder 45.

From the foregoingoperation it will be `manifest that the plunger rod Rcan,

through manipulation of the cap '44, be moved to 'open or close thevalve 34 without the necessity of actuallyrremovi'ng the cap from thepen barrel.

Although we'have herein shown and de? scribed only two forms of fountainpens embodying our invention, it is to bevunderstood that-variouschanges and modifications may beniade therein without departing from thespirit of the invention, and the spirit and' scope of the appendedclaims.l

We claim:

plunger I movable therein, said plunger` comprising an annular body, atubular-member extending through the body and having one 1. In afountain pen, a barrel-having a end constructed to provide a seat, ayoke on the tubular body and extending above the seat, a rod movable inthe yoke, and a valve fixed to the rod operable by the latter to engageor disengage said seat, said valve engaging the yoke to limit themovement of the rod in moving the valve to open position.

2. In a fountain pen, a barrel, a plunger movable therein and having apassage therethrough, a closure for one end of the barrel having anextension provided exteriorly With left hand screw threads, a rod forreciprocating the plunger movable through said 'closure and extension, ahead on the outer end of the rod, a valve on the rod, said rod beingrelatively movable with respect to the plunger to permit movement of thevalve to open or close said passage, a member threaded. on theextension, av collar on the extension for maintaining the member againstremoval from the extension, and a cap havingI a right hand screwthreaded engagement With the member and provided with a pocket toreceive the rod head.

3. In a fountain pen, a barrel, a plunger movable therein and having apassage therethrough, a closure for one end of the'barrel open or closesaid passage, a member threaded on the extension, a collar on theextension for maintaining the member agalnst removal from the extenslon,and a lcap threaded reversely from the extension for threaded engagementwith the member and provided with a pocket to receive the rod head.

4. In a fountain pen, a barrel having a tubular plunger movable thereinand provided With a valve seat, a yoke on the plunger, a rod movable inthe yoke, and a valve fixedv to the rod for operation by the latter toengage or disengage said seat, the valve engaging the yoke to limitmovement of the rod in moving the valve to open position. v

5. In a fountain pen, a barrel having a tubular plunger movable thereinand provided with a valve seat, a yoke on the plunger, a rod movable inthe yoke, and a valve fixed to the rod for operation bythe lattertoengage or disengage said seat, the

valve engaging the yoke to limit movementl of the rod in moving thevalve to openy position, said yoke comprising spaced arms projectingfrom the plunger, and a collar connecting the free end'of the arms andwith which the valve directly engages to limit movement of the rod inmoving the valve to open position.

WILLIAM A. HOUSTON. DILLMAN CHARLES HOUSTON,

